Try Piedmont area or the neighborhood around Rockridge Bart station. Do not even think about elseplace in Oakland. Oakland, Richmond, and E. Palo Alto are the most dangerous cities in California, or probably in USA. The problem is that there are no apartments or rent houses available in Piedmont because that area is a very wealthy neighborhood in the Bay area. Your best shot may be Rockridge Bart area. But I would recommend you also consider Albany near Berkeley. It has a relatively better neighborhood and better public schools and also I believe there are apartments within the city. You can also find some rental homes from http://www.craigslist.org if you can not find any apartment around the cities I mentioned. Good luck.
